If you asked Bob Dearsley of which accomplishment he is most proud, he would list his two children at the top, followed soon after by his impressive business successes. And now, those two triumphs have come together with his daughter, Verity Dearsley, playing a prominent role both at itpr and BFO International.

For years, Bob Dearsley watched company directors struggle and stumble, believing they could handle their PR and marketing on their own. It motivated him to write his book All That PR & Marketing Bollox Explained. In it, he demystifies how powerful an integrated PR and marketing ecosystem, combined with solid inbound marketing techniques can be in producing excellent results for businesses.

In 1990, Bob launched itpr, a London-based PR and inbound marketing consultancy firm focused on the tech sector. He has 30 years of experience in the PR field and is a tech marketer at heart. Itpr has helped start-up, mid-sized and large companies launch and reposition countless PR and marketing campaigns to help them grow and be more profitable.

From Acting to Digital Marketing

Following her studies at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Verity Dearsley cut her teeth as a successful actress on the BBC series The Ghost Hunter. She says that her dramatic training improved her people skills and that studying the works of Shakespeare and Chaucer gave her an even deeper regard for the written word.

The Dynamic Duo

When Bob Dearsley launched a new venture under the itpr Group banner called The B2B Marketing Laboratory in 2011, bringing Verity on board to lead the B2B Inbound Marketing Consultancy team made for a perfect fit. The endeavor, which is comprised of search and PPC analysts, marketing experts, designers, copywriters, social media professionals, and web developers, has grown to become a top Hubspot consultancy in London.

2015 saw the arrival of BFO International, a joint venture between The B2B Marketing Laboratory and the Chicago-based marketing agency BFO (Be Found Online). With a global reach, BFO International has a multi-lingual team that offers cutting-edge digital marketing strategies for clients targeting markets in North and South America, Africa, the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

The duo were recently seen at Hubspot's annual INBOUND conference, where they gave a much-acclaimed talk together on "Managing Ongoing Client Success After Winning the Contract".

Outside of being marketing wizards, Bob is a Chelsea FC fan, particularly when they win, and enjoys playing golf and tennis. In Bob’s estimation, a perfect Saturday afternoon involves walking his dog down to the pub.

Verity is most likely to be found watching old movies, or baking some sugary delights (ideally with a glass of pinot grigio in hand).

Some Dearsley Advice

Bob firmly believes that any firm can benefit from working with a PR agency. The challenge is finding the right agency. In his estimation, it’s all a matter of fit. Smaller start-up companies with limited resources may be very well served by a single-person operation, whereas, larger, more mature and established brands will do well with a larger agency team that can weed out journalist access to your executive teams that are not worthy of attention.